Bead Cube Racks Now Available

[jammie]

Mines is here, it looks great. Thanks Lee, no sooner said than done and posted. 

[mizgeorge]

Just got mine too. And it's perfect! Thanks Lee.

[jammie]

I love this its made a huge difference.it works really well as i had been having a lot of trouble with stuck beads. Also less hoovering as the bead release us mostly caught in the bottom of it so can be tipped out. I did still manage to stick 2 together but def put that down to human error or numptyitis.

[Lee - Kilncare]

 

[sarah t]

very pleased with mine too ......

[SallyB]

Hello

I was lucky enough to receive a BeadCube for Christmas with bead rack which I'm obviously really pleased with but my first attempt at garaging hasn't gone well. 
The mandrels keep slipping out of the beadrack and falling on the floor.  I ended up getting in a right mess and have abandoned my attempt at garaging for now. 
I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong please if possible.  I have the beadrack the way up that is shown in the picture on this thread on top of the tile that came with the kiln.  A photo of the inside of a beadcube with a rack and mandrels would help massively if anyone has one.

Hoping for help
Sally
x

[sarah t]

dont have a pic ...sorry

i have my rack on the floor of the kiln ..dont think it being on the tile would make much difference though

when putting in a bead i tend to put in on the far right and move the other bead over to the left .......you can stack pretty close to each other once they have reached kiln temperature ..watch out for hot mandrels when moving beads and do not let your new bead touch any other beads till it has reached kiln temperature  or they will stick together ...it takes a bit of getting used to and sometimes you wish you had three hands 

re the slipping off... maybe moving the rack forward a bit or working further up the mandrel so you have a bit more mandrel to stick into the hole ?

i dont use the rack all the time ... i got used to not having it and if i am making larger beads i rest the mandrels on the rectangle shaped brick

why not try putting some beads on a some mandrels and practicing in a cold kiln

[Lush!]

I agree with Sarah about working down the mandrel a little way so you can poke the end through the rack hole - and pull the rack away from the very back of the kiln chamber. 

Here's a pic of my rack, its the prototype that Lee made so I think it may have a few less holes than yours.

[SallyB]

thank you so much for those really helpful suggestions.  I will have another go with some changes. 
Thanks again I was a bit grumpy that it all went a bit wrong so really appreciate the help.

Sally
x

[sarah t]

 that pic is the other way round ...the slots are on the right so thats why loading hot beads from the torch on the right makes sence ........put the block behind the rack so it does not move about ...i tend to use the dips for beads i am going to move and then fill up from the bottom over the other side... as long as you can still close the door stack em up  

and the tip about putting the cube up on a couple of bricks is a good one making everything a bit more to hand and a better eye level

there is some glass that tends to be a bit sticker but thats for another day  

its just getting used to it ....garaging makes such a difference to the survival of the beads you make especially larger focals so its worth getting to grips with it

you will get it honest ...it all seams a bit much at first ...but once beads are kiln temperature they are pretty hardy ..and can take a fair bit of shifting about